Chelsea’s predicted starting XI and subs for preseason finale vs Inter Milan

theprideoflondon.com
Jul 29, 2017 9:03 AM
Only the pre-season finale against Inter Milan stands between Chelsea and a flight home. Which players will have the chance to make their case one last time for Antonio Conte’s 2017/18 squad?

chelsea, antonio conte
SINGAPORE – JULY 25: Chelsea FC team manager Antonio Conte actions during the International Champions Cup match between Chelsea FC and FC Bayern Munich at National Stadium on July 25, 2017 in Singapore. (Photo by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images for ICC)
Chelsea have filled out the loan army nicely: 27 players as of this writing, who knows how many more as of your reading. Several players with the team in Asia are sure to add to that tally, and the friendly against Inter Milan will have an important role in the club’s decisions on who stays and who goes.

Even once Chelsea have their squad in place, Antonio Conte still has plenty of decisions to make. Between the injuries to Pedro and Eden Hazard, lack of wing-backs on the transfer market and the club’s lethargy in filling out central midfield, the starting XI in the Community Shield and then against Burnley is very much up in the air.

Here is our projected starting 3-4-3 for the last pre-season match.

Goalkeeper

GK

Thibaut Courtois

13, Belgium

Thibaut Courtois may have learned a familiar lesson from Diego Costa: if you have any lingering resentment about being at Chelsea, best keep it to yourself. In the other direction, Chelsea must now ensure Courtois is 100% happy now that Willy Caballero is wearing gloves on the bench instead of Asmir Begovic. So far, Courtois seems content to defend his Golden Glove and Premier League title.

Defence

CB

Andreas Christensen

27, Denmark

Antonio Rudiger is still not with the squad, but Antonio Conte will need to see something new on defence to assess his options. Andreas Christensen has a squad number and is a near-lock for a place on the first team this season.
He will get the start, but either through substitutions or shuffling, the back-line will probably end the game differently than it starts.

CB

Gary Cahill

24, England

Conte will not start his final pre-season game with his newly-appointed captain on the bench. To best accommodate Andreas Christensen’s start, Cahill will slide to the centre of the back-lin.

CB

Cesar Azpilicueta

28, Spain

Likewise, the vice-captain and never-miss-a-minute Azpilicueta is also not going to spectate the opening kickoff. Azpilicueta is more versatile and has more experience on the left than Christensen, so Azpilicueta will return to the left. It’s a low probability event, but if Azpilicueta starts in central midfield, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

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Midfield

WB

Victor Moses

15, Nigeria

Antonio Conte still has little room to maneuver among wing-backs, so Victor Moses will get the start. Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta and Fikayo Tomori could all slot in for Moses at some point.

CM

N'Golo Kante

7, France

N’Golo Kante knows where he will be playing, but he may not find out who is to his left until the team sheet posts an hour before kick-off. Somehow Chelsea have gone from a plethora of central midfielders to Kante and a series of question marks.

CM

Lewis Baker

England

A large factor in Fabregas’ success last season was how carefully Antonio Conte managed his playing time,
both in games and across the season. Antonio Conte will not want to start Fabregas for 90 minutes to open the season, with Tiemoue Bakayoko’s entrance to the squad so unclear right now. Baker has the edge of Mario Pasalic to stay with Chelsea, and Conte needs to know immediately what a Baker-Kante midfield will do.

WB

Marcos Alonso

3, Spain

Like Victor Moses, Marcos Alonso is far and away the only option to start at left wing-back. Kenedy is gone, and Fikayo Tomori will come on as a substitute but will not start any time soon.